Alternative Headlight Units

[Pope1]

The Beta outer headlights (the dipped beam ones) are extremely poor in my opinion. I've recently replaced mine with some new units (well they were new when I bought them about 6 years ago) and Philips Vision Plus bulbs. These measures have helped but the light output is still inadequate due to the quality of the reflector. Main beam, by contrast, is absolutely brilliant.

Can anyone suggest a suitable alternative please? I'm looking for something that is the same size and shape as the original and as near plug and play as possible.

Chris

[Hamish]

Chris,
More of a suggestion really - try the relay scheme much discussed in earlier posts.... you will be amazed at the difference in the lights and it's worth considering over new units if the ones you have are OK :idea:

[PeterCoupe]

Hamish
Can you help me and point to that tread about light and relay, I had a look but could not find it.
I also have extremly poor visiability at night. I was thinking of upgrading to latter model ser II coupe setup.


Regards
Peter

[Pope1]

Hamish - been there, done that already I'm afraid. Like Peter, one of my issues is that my night vision is not what it used to be, and there are quite a few unlit roads near my home. I've also been spoilt by the lights on my daily driver so every time I take the beast out at night I'm fretting because it's so much worse that "normal". The problem seems to be the little reflector that sits in front of the bulb does not do much reflecting.

Peter - can't remember exactly what I connected where but I used a multimeter to determine which wire from the column stalks activated the headlights. (The main beam lights go through a relay but the dipped beam ones are wired directly to the stalk switch.) I then cut the feed from the light stalk and sent that to a relay instead. On the other side of the relay I connected a hefty wire that went back to a decent +12V source (best to have an inline fuse too) and the wire that goes to the headlights. If I get the opportunity in the near future, and I can find the relevant wires, I'll take some pictures and post them in the gallery.

Chris

[Pope1]

Please ignore my comments above about the headlamp relay mod, my memeory did not serve me well.

Here is a picture of the relay connections.
http://home.caribsurf.com/chrysalis/images/relay.jpg

The blue/black wire is the +12V supply that goes to the column switch and the grey/black wire feeds the +12V signal to the lights when the switch is on. I've taken a decent earth connection from and wired that to one of the inputs to the relay. The other input comes from the grey/black wire that shows +12V when the light switch is. I've cut that wire and the part that goes back to the switch is the trigger for the relay. Light switch goes on, relay switches.

Relay outputs now. The relay has to connect the cut grey/black wire that goes back to the lights to the blue/black wire. I've used a splice connector to connect one of the relay outputs into the blue/black wire. The other relay output goes to that grey/black wire (the part going to the lights).

Hope that's some help.

Chris

[PeterCoupe]

Thanks Chris

I will try that as soon as I get back home.
Has anyone done HID conversion??????? how much can that cost.


Peter

[Pope1]

Been looking at HID this week too. Cost is US$400-500 as far as I can see. It's a matter of buying a kit, swapping your existing bulbs with the HID ones, finding somewhere to fit the relevant boxes and wiring it up. Choose the right kit and you get a wiring adapter that connects between the lamp connector you have now and the HID kit. Job done.

At that price you really have to want it/need it IMO especially if your Lancia is a second/hobby car. I'm considering getting some Cibie headlamp units at the moment as an alternative to the standard Lancia ones and then only going HID if they're not up to the job. I use Philips Vision Plus bulbs in my daily driver (VW Golf) and they seem plenty bright enough. Seems to me that's it's just a matter of getting a better lamp unit more than anything else.

Chris

[cthargiss]

I use the Hella units as the light pattern is superior to the Ciebe. With Hella 75W/100W bulbs they really light up the night!
Craig

[Pope1]

Craig, would you post details of the Hella units please? Model name/number, approximate price and where to buy would all be good if you have them.

IMO you've got to be careful with higher wattage bulbs in the Beta unless you're upgrading the wiring too.

Chris

[cthargiss]

Hella 5 3/4" headlight kit H-4; Part # 1A3 002 850-871, Order # 71456
comes with 55/70 bulb. Available from most major parts suppliers or J.C. Whitney via mail order. About $40 USD each. 75/100 or 80/100 H-4 bulbs are $10-$20 USD each. As far as high wattage, that's what relays are for.
Craig

[Pope1]

Craig,

Many thanks for those datails. I hear you loud and clear on the issue of relays.

Chris